Welcome to SWIVL

Dear Brisenia . . . Your Kitties are Loved

May 30, 2009 -- Nine-year-old Brisenia Flores was sleeping soundly in her bed in Arivaca, Arizona when she was shot and killed in cold blood.  While the reasons behind this senseless killing will be debated and discussed in detail, the memory of this beautiful young girl is a reminder that life is precious and that it’s time to reassess what we are doing personally, socially, and politically to keep our families and children safe.  SWIVL became involved with the life of Brisenia through our work with the Green Valley, Arizona PAWS Patrol.

Dear Brisenia,

We want to let you know that your kitties are doing okay. They have been with us over the past few days and they’re getting along very well with the other SWIVL cats.  Don’t’ worry, they are safe and sound.  We keep them inside, away from anyone that can hurt them.

Brisenia, your cats are very special.  You did a really nice job of raising them.  You should be very proud.   It’s not easy taking care of cats and it shows how much you loved them.  They do not scratch, bite, or hiss.  They are friendly; love to be loved, and gentle to the touch.

Your life, like your kitties, will always be a mystery. Watching Tiger and Stanley we can only wonder about the behaviors they display each day.  We will never know what they dream – only that they do.  We will never know your dreams – only that you did.  We will never know the young woman you would have been – the possibilities and promise.

We can only know you by the lives you touched and the kitties that you loved.   Your kitties tell your story and we listen each day. 

We will make sure that you are never forgotten.  Every time Tiger and Stanley are fed, touched, and held, you will be there.  They will never go hungry and always have shelter.  We promise to greet them every morning with a loving touch and a cheerful smile.  We promise to make sure their water is fresh and that they feel the warmth of the sun.  We promise to tell them how much you loved them each day, every day.   We promise!

A More Compassionate, Caring School Curriculum.

Goat Central is a social, emotional, and academic place for children, animals, and adults to gather, engage and relate to each other for the purpose of creating a violencefree environment.  Through K – 12 curriculum and instruction, hands-on field work, specialized and technical support, and parenting education and development programs, SWIVL provides a diverse set of opportunities that encourages personal responsibility, self-reliance, and independence. 

 

Goats, as with all sentient beings, should not be exploited, regardless of the intention or motive.  Rather, goats provide valuable lessons through an observing, caring relationship.  Too often, goats, as with most farmed animals, are viewed in terms of how they can benefit humans.  Today, we are learning more and more on how heath related problems are linked to meat and dairy products.  SWIVL will be providing regular updates on how a vegetarian or vegan diet is more likely to improve the general health for both children and adults.

 

 

SWIVL is developing a Teacher-Community Advisory Group for Goat Central.  Contact SWIVL if you would like to join and become part of this exciting, new group. The Advisory Group will focus on creating a compassionate, self-reliant classroom based on respect and civility.

 

 

Goats provide a wonderful experience for children and adults to learn and experience compassion, respect, and empathetic relationships.  Goats are extremely social and engaging and can provide  valuable lessons for children of all ages. 

 

Goats also have a hidden life and it can be difficult to establish a relationship of trust.  It takes time and a willingness on the part of humans to appreciate the value and self-worth of this wonderful creature.  Once a trusting relationship is established, however, you will have a friend for life.  Once you have earned their trust, goats exhibit behaviors that are both joyful and loyal.  For both young and old, being with goats is self-sustaining and energizing and most of all brings you closer to your humanity. 

 

From biology to mathematics, teachers, administrators, and parents are encouraged to contact SWIVL to find out how Goat Central can create a more compassionate, caring school curriculum.

SWIVL to Present at AI World Conference

SWIVL has been selected to present at the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) World Conference at Kathmandu, Nepal – November 16-19, 2009. The AI conference will feature top leaders, practitioners, and scholars from around the world who focus on strength-based approaches for change and development. With a focus on lifting up best practices and stories of success from around the globe, this event promises to be the premier learning and collaborative opportunity for today’s leaders, managers, and development professionals in government, non-government, business and change agents at every level of society. Click here for conference information and registration.

 

SWIVL will present a special online session entitled, A ViolenceFree Environment: Articulating a Vision.  This interactive session explores the strength-based power of words, messaging, and community. The workshop invites participants to become part of an online community that dialogues with them in an effort to help develop, sharpen, and, articulate the vision of Creating a Violence Free Environment through Appreciative Inquiry.

 

Participants will gain an understanding of the term, ViolenceFree and the conceptual framework that integrates Appreciative Inquiry as a resilience-based strategy undergirding the theory of change culminating in a ViolenceFree environment.  In the end, participants will be able to articulate a ViolenceFree environment as a rational, logical, and achievable goal. Click here for more information.

Opportunity Zones

Opportunity Zones are a seamless, value driven force for transformational change. Opportunity Zones are driven by a progressive culture and independent climate where individuals and groups have a strong work ethic, egalitarian life style, and a future orientation. Central to the creation of Opportunity Zones is asset-based thinking where individuals develop mutually shared respect, support, and trust based on individual talents and strengths. Opportunity Zones are temporary containers for personal, social, and political transformation to exist within a nurturing, supportive environment. Continue reading

Powerful Positive Possibilities

ViolenceFree exists when personal and social hopes, dreams, and opportunities exist as powerful positive statements.    The first step to creating a ViolenceFree life, family, community, and nation is to recognize that each individual has the capacity to do great things.  As each of us considers our role and responsibility for creating ViolenceFree we need to reflect and consider the following two guidelines:

• Personal Reflection:  How independent will I be as a result of any new program, action, or decision?  Will I become more self-reliant or will I be dependent on others?  Will I be able to utilize my talents and strengths or will I be underutilized?  How are my personal hopes, dreams, and opportunities enhanced?

• Social Reflection: Will my relationships with others be undermined or strengthen as a result of any new program, action, or decision?  Will I increase my understanding of myself and others?  Will I be able to develop my relationship with others?  Will my freedom and independence to act be strengthened or weakened?  Will people be treated as ends and not means to an end?  How are our social hopes, dreams, and opportunities enhanced?

The video below describes the importance of hope as a catalyst for personal and social success.

 

A Square Peg into a Round Hole

The essence of ViolenceFree is a creative and enterprising spirit.  The political structure that governs ViolenceFree supports and maintains an independent and self-reliant environment.  Within this environment, individuals and groups are passionate and energized about their work. 

This point is clearly illustrated with the reenactment of the scientists and engineers required to resolve a major challenge facing the crew of the Apollo13. 

Their goal:   Fit a square peg into a round hole.

The Deficit Model at Work

The deficit model is the fundamental framework that drives society.  Based on the deficit model, the media, business, and government are driven by problems, weaknesses, and fears.  Within the deficit model, individuals and groups are less likely to consider their strengths and more likely to be concerned about their weaknesses.  As a result, individuals tend to be more dependent on others for help and assistance and less likely to consider their own potential and capacity to act on their own behalf.

As other individuals, groups, and organizations fulfill our deficit needs, we become more dependent on others and less reliant on ourselves. 

Deficit thinking plus a state of dependency is a recipe for personal, social, and political cynicism and despair.  Within this environment, individuals tend to have little hope for the future and have even less energy to act. 

Think about the last time you attended a meeting, family gathering, or community event for the purpose of solving a particular problem. How did you feel?  Did you feel empowered or powerless?  Were you hopeful or pessimistic?  Were you energized or drained?   

The video below is a humorous, while revealing dramatic representation of the deficit model at work.

There are Angels Among Us

There are angels among us – individuals who care for the most helpless and vulnerable in society. These individuals are foster parents. They care for children and companion animals – they extend a hand to those in need. SWIVL works with individuals and families to become companion animal foster parents. What better way to create a healthy family environment?

Why Foster Parents are Needed?

• Foster parents provide shelters for many companion animals that would otherwise be killed.

• Foster parents provide sick and injured animals with the additional care, time, and medication they need to recover.

• Foster parents provide the emotional care to animals that have suffered previous fear or stress based situations that the animals may have encountered in the past.

• Foster parents provide special care to kittens and puppies, which have special needs such as diet and frequent feeding schedules.

Being a Foster Parent is a Teaching and Learning Experience

• Children see compassion in action..

• Children observe their parents as caring, responsible citizens.

• Children witness the value of unconditional love.

• Children develop responsible, accountable behaviors.

Contact SWIVL if you would like to offer a kitten, puppy, dog, or cat a temporary home and become a foster parent. Foster parents are very special – most of the time invisible – always caring and compassionate.

Being a foster parent is an opportunity to care for a dog or cat that isn't yet ready for adoption. It is an alternative for those who cannot make a long-term commitment, but would still like to help homeless companion animals in need.

When society turns its back on the pain and suffering of our companion animals, we turn our back on everything that is good about our humanity. On the other hand, when we reach out to our companion animals we are enriched as a species.

Here's Bella - Bella was a foster dog, passed from one family to the next – never fitting in. Bella is a gentle, friendly dog that never found the right fit with a family. As a chow mix, many families were not comfortable with her even though she never showed any aggressive signs. Dogs, like Bella, make wonderful companion animals for families.  Unfortunately, a growing number of individuals believe that a pure breed is their dog of choice.  If the goal is to have a loving companion – a companion that will show love and commitment every single day – dogs like Bella are waiting for you.  SWIVL found Bella and decided that her days of search for a family were over. She was a perfect fit with all the other permanent members of the SWIVL family.

Stopping the Cycle of Violence

Traditional approaches to controlling and managing the spread of violence are flawed - insights from new science thinking can help us find novel ways of creating safe communities. Too often elected representatives, along with members of various agencies and groups, have failed to understand the interconnected nature and complexity of violent behavior. It is precisely here where the metaphor and logic of self-organizing practices are able to provide a new lens for reexamining the nature of violence and possible solutions. Through self-organizing methods such as the future search process, citizens are motivated to return to their communities and assume a direct, more responsive role for stopping the cycle of violence. Continue reading.